Russian Defense Ministry: US Reconnaissance Aircraft Monitored Over Black Sea
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Russia's Defense Ministry said that a US E-8C spy plane was spotted over the Black Sea where it circled for 5 hours.
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The Northrop Grumman E-8C STARS aircraft
Russia's Defense Ministry announced it spotted a US airforce E-8C surveillance aircraft over the Black Sea.
"A US E-8C plane that took off from the Ramstein Air Base in Germany kept circling above the northwestern, central, and northeastern parts of the Black Sea for five hours and 13 minutes at altitudes ranging from 7,000 to 10,000 meters. It came as close as 35 kilometers from the Russian border," the statement reads.
Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, had earlier said on October 12 that "after its withdrawal from Afghanistan, NATO seeks to redeploy forces to Central, South, and Southeast Asia and to direct flows of Afghan refugees there."
Relations with NATO growing sour
Russia's Foreign Ministry had also commented on the most recent NATO Defense Ministers summit, which was held on October 21-22, stating that NATO is still working exclusively, 70 years on, to "contain Russia", as the alliance is again sharpening its potential to face its enemy in the East, just like in the Cold War.
NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, had declared that the alliance is still keeping communication channels open with Russia, pursuing a double policy of defense and deterrence, and openness to dialogue, which has become more difficult because of Russia's decision to close NATO's offices in Moscow, according to Stoltenberg.
Russia's Foreign Ministry also decided to suspend its NATO mission starting November 1st, in retaliation to NATO's decision to withdraw the accreditation of a number of Russian diplomats.
Russia - NATO relations have grown tense because of the increase of the latter's presence near the Russian borders.
"These are unscheduled moves by the US military that is setting up a multinational group of armed forces in close proximity to the Russian border," Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement.
